2578 Saint-Exupéry
Encyclopedia
2578 Saint-Exupéry is a small main belt
asteroid
, which was discovered by Tamara M. Smirnova on November 2, 1975. It is named after Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
, the French
aviator
and writer
. The name is appropriate, as Saint-Exupéry's best-known character, The Little Prince
, lives on an asteroid.
In the book, the little prince's asteroid also has a unique code: B612. According to present conventions 2578 Saint-Exupéry's provisional designation was , which is not a match. However, there is another asteroid called 46610 Bésixdouze
, which is French for "B-six-twelve" (B612 in hexadecimal
notation equals 46610).
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
asteroid
Asteroid
Asteroids are a class of small Solar System bodies in orbit around the Sun. They have also been called planetoids, especially the larger ones...
, which was discovered by Tamara M. Smirnova on November 2, 1975. It is named after Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
Antoine de Saint-Exupéry , officially Antoine Marie Jean-Baptiste Roger, comte de Saint Exupéry , was a French writer, poet and pioneering aviator. He became a laureate of France's highest literary awards, and in 1939 was the winner of the U.S. National Book Award...
, the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
and writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
. The name is appropriate, as Saint-Exupéry's best-known character, The Little Prince
The Little Prince
The Little Prince , first published in 1943, is a novella and the most famous work of the French aristocrat writer, poet and pioneering aviator Antoine de Saint-Exupéry ....
, lives on an asteroid.
In the book, the little prince's asteroid also has a unique code: B612. According to present conventions 2578 Saint-Exupéry's provisional designation was , which is not a match. However, there is another asteroid called 46610 Bésixdouze
46610 Besixdouze
46610 Besixdouze is an asteroid belonging to the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter.It was formally pinpointed by Kin Endate and Kazuro Watanabe on October 15, 1993....
, which is French for "B-six-twelve" (B612 in hexadecimal
Hexadecimal
In mathematics and computer science, hexadecimal is a positional numeral system with a radix, or base, of 16. It uses sixteen distinct symbols, most often the symbols 0–9 to represent values zero to nine, and A, B, C, D, E, F to represent values ten to fifteen...
notation equals 46610).
See also
- Petit-PrincePetit-Prince (moon)Eugenia I Petit-Prince is the larger, outer moon of asteroid 45 Eugenia. It was discovered in 1998 by astronomers at the Canada-France-Hawaii Telescope on Mauna Kea, Hawaii. Initially, it received the provisional designation S/1998 1. Petit-Prince was the first asteroid moon to be discovered...
, a moonAsteroid moonA minor planet moon is an astronomical body that orbits a minor planet as its natural satellite. It is thought that many asteroids and Kuiper belt objects may possess moons, in some cases quite substantial in size...
of 45 Eugenia45 Eugenia45 Eugenia is a large main-belt asteroid. It is famed as one of the first asteroids to be found to have a moon orbiting it. It is also the second known triple asteroid, after 87 Sylvia.- Discovery :... - 5540 Smirnova5540 Smirnova5540 Smirnova is a main-belt asteroid discovered on August 30, 1971 by T. M. Smirnova at Nauchnyj.- External links :*...